Celestine IV.

Coat of arms of Celestine IV, modern tracing (this form of the tiara is impossible in 1241)

Celestine IV , actually Goffredo di Castiglione , (* in the 12th century in Milan ; † November 10, 1241 in Rome ) was Pope for 17 days in 1241 . Urban III's nephew was founded on October 25, 1241 as the successor to Gregory IX, who died in old age . elected.

Life

Coelestin came from Milan , where he was chancellor of the archdiocese from 1223 to 1226 . Since September 18, 1227 he was Cardinal Priest of San Marco in Rome and since 1238 Cardinal Bishop of Sabina .

Celestine IV was the first pope to be elected in a conclave of cardinals. The Roman Senator Matteo Rosso Orsini had the cardinals arrested in the Septasolium . One of the cardinals died as a result of the unbearable heat and the catastrophic hygienic conditions. Nevertheless, it took a long time for the cardinals to agree on the aged Cardinal Goffredo Castiglione.

His election as Pope took place at the instigation of those cardinals who worked towards a reconciliation of the Church with Emperor Friedrich II., Who with Gregory IX. had been hopelessly enemies.

Celestine IV died weakened by the conclave after 17 days, before he could be crowned, on November 10, 1241. His successor was Pope Innocent IV after a two-year vacancy , which also meant the end of the reconciliation policy between empire and curia.

literature

• Agostino Paravicini Bagliani:  Celestino IV. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 23:  Cavallucci-Cerretesi. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1979, pp. 398-402.
• Agostino Paravicini Bagliani: Celestine IV . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 3, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1986, ISBN 3-7608-8903-4 , column 7.
• Agostino Paravicini Bagliani:  Celestino IV. In: Massimo Bray (ed.): Enciclopedia dei Papi. Volume 2:  Niccolò I, santo, Sisto IV. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2000, pp. 380–384 ( treccani.it ) ..
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  COELESTIN IV. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 1078-1079.
• Thomas Shahan:  Pope Celestine IV . In: Catholic Encyclopedia , Robert Appleton Company, New York 1913.

Web links

Commons : Celestine IV.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Celestine IV .. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed November 20, 2011.
• Entry on Celestine IV on catholic-hierarchy.org

predecessor	Office	successor
Gregory IX.	Pope 1241	Innocent IV.